A pressure sensor is a device that converts an applied physical pressure into an electrical signal. Such sensors have a range of applications depending on the pressure level, from low to high pressure. Sensors that use physical pressure, when compared to those operating under air pressure, are not widely applied as they are inefficient. To solve this problem, graphene oxide, which exhibits good mechanical and electrical characteristics, was used to increase the efficiency of these pressure sensors. Graphene oxide has properties that control the movement of charges within the dielectric. Exploiting these properties, we evaluated the change in electrical characteristics when pressure was applied according to the ratio and thickness of the oxidation graph added to the pressure sensor.

This paper introduces a biocompatible packaging system for implantable medical device having a hermetic sealing, such that a perfect physical and chemical isolation between electronic medical system and human body (including tissue, body fluids, etc.) is obtained. The hermetic packaging includes an electronic MEMS pressure sensor, power charging system, and bluetooth communication system to wirelessly measure variation of capacitance. The packaging was acquired by Quartz direct bonding and CO₂ laser welding, with a size of width 6 cm × length 10 cm × height 3 cm. Hermetic sealing of the packaged system was tested by changing the pressure in a hermetic chamber using a precision pressure controller, from atmospheric to 900 mmHg. We found that the packaged system retained the same count or capacitance values with sensor 1 - 25,500, sensor 2 - 26,000, and sensor 3 - 20,800, at atmospheric as well as 900 mmHg pressure for 5 hours. This result shows that the packaging method has perfect hermetic sealing in any environment of the human body pressure.

Among the various physiological information that could be obtained from human body, heartbeat rate is a commonly used vital sign in the clinical milieu. Photoplethysography (PPG) sensor is incorporated into many wearable healthcare devices because of its advantages such as simplicity of hardware structure and low-cost. However, healthcare device employing PPG sensor has been issued in susceptibility of light and motion artifact. In this paper, to develop the real-time heart rate measurement device that is less sensitive to the external noises, we have fabricated an ultra-small wireless LC resonant pressure sensor by MEMS process. After performance evaluation in linearity and repeatability of the MEMS pressure sensor, heartbeat waveform and rate on radial artery were obtained by using resonant frequency-pressure conversion method. The measured data using the proposed heartbeat rate measurement system was validated by comparing it with the data of an commercialized heart rate measurement device. Result of the proposed device was agreed well to that of the commercialized device. The obtained real time heartbeat wave and rate were displayed on personal mobile system by bluetooth communication.

In this paper, in order to quantify the peristalsis occurrence in a guinea pig`s large intestine, a miniaturized air-gap capacitive pressure sensor was fabricated through micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS). The proposed pressure sensor is a two-layered biocompatible polyimide substrate consisting of an air-gap capacitive plates between the substrates. The proposed pressure sensor was designed with a careful consideration of the structure and motility mechanism of the guinea pig`s large intestine. Artificial pellets were mounted on a prototype pressure sensor to provide some redundancies in the form of size and shape of the guinea pig feces. Capacitance of a prototype sensor was recorded to be 2.5 ~ 3 pF. This capacitance value was later converted to count value using a lab fabricated data conversion system. Sensitivity of the pressure sensor was recorded to be below 1 mmHg per atmospheric pressure. During in vivo testing, artificial peristalsis caused by drug injection was measured by inserting the prototype pressure sensor into the guinea pig’s large intestine and pressure data obtained due to artificial peristalsis was graphed using a labview program. The proposed pressure sensor could measure the pressure changes in the proximal, medial, and distal parts of the large intestine. The results of the experiment confirmed that pressure changes of guinea pig`s large intestine was proportional to the degree of drug injection.

In this paper, we fabricated ceramic body and sapphire wafer in order to develop a hydraulic pressure sensor with high sensitivity and high temperature stability. The sapphire wafer was adopted with a membrane of capacitance ceramic pressure sensor. The capacitance value of the sensor for the finite element analysis(FEM) showed a linear pressure characteristics. Membrane was processed with a diameter of 32.4 ㎜ and a thickness of 1 ㎜ by using alumina powders. Ceramic body was processed with a diameter 32.4 ㎜ and a thickness 5 ㎜. The capacitance pressure sensor was made with high heat treatment of the ceramic body and the sapphire wafer. Initially capacitance of the pressure sensor was 50 pF and a capacitance of 110 pF was measured from 5 bar pressure. Output voltage of 5 V was appeared at 5 bar pressure.

In this study, we introduce a polymer(polyimide) based pressure sensor to measure real-time heart beat and blood pressure. The sensor have been designed with consideration of skin compatibility of material, cost effectiveness, manufacturability and wireless detection. The designed sensor was composed of inductor coils and an air-gap capacitor which generate self-resonant frequency when electrical source is applied on the system. The sensor was obtained with metalization, etching, photolithography, polymer adhesive bonding and laser cutting. The fabricated sensor was shaped in circular type with 10mm diameter and 0.45 mm thickness to fit radial artery. Resonant frequencies of the fabricated sensors were in the range of 91∼96 MHz on 760 mmHg pressurized environment. Also the sensor has good linearity without any pressure-frequency hysteresis. Sensitivity of the sensor was 145.5 kHz/mmHg and accuracy was less than 2 mmHg. Real-time heart beat measurement was executed with a developed hand-held measurement system. Possibility of real-time blood pressure measurement was showed with simulated artery system. After installation of the sensor on skin above radial artery, simple real blood pressure measurement was performed with 64 mmHg blood pressure variation.

In this paper, we present a MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical system) implantable blood pressure sensor which has designed and fabricated with consideration of size, design flexibility, and wireless detection. Mechanical and electrical characterizations of the sensor were obtained by mathematical analysis and computer aided simulation. The sensor is composed of two coils and a air gap capacitor formed by separation of the coils. Therefore, the sensor produces its resonant frequency which is changed by external pressure variation. This frequency movement is detected by inductive coupling between the sensor and an external antenna coil. Theoretically analyzed resonant frequency of the sensor under 760 mmHg was calculated to 269.556 MHz. Fused silica was selected as sensor material with consideration of chemical and electrical reaction of human body to the material. 2 mm × 5 mm × 0.5 mm pressure sensors fitted to radial artery were fabricated on the substrates by consecutive microfabrication processes: sputtering, etching, photolithography, direct bonding and laser welding. Resonant frequencies of the fabricated sensors were in the range of 269∼284 MHz under 760 mmHg pressure.

We have developed an implantable wireless sensor for real time pressure monitoring of blood circulation system. MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical system) technology was adopted as a sensor development method. The sensor is composed of photolithographically patterned inductors and a distributed capacitor in gap between the inductors. A resulting LC resonant system produces its resonant frequency in range of 269 to 284 MHz at 740 mmHg. To read the resonant frequency changed by blood pressure variation, we developed a custom readout system based on a network analyzer functionality, The bench-top testing of the pressure sensors showed good mechanical and electrical functionality. A sensor was implanted into tibial artery of farm pig, and interrogated wirelessly with accurate readings of blood pressure. After 45 days, the sensor`s electrical response and histopathology were studied with good frequency reading and biocompatibility.